You are trained in the Hindustani tradition of classical music. Still from the PTV Lahore program in the 1960s I have so many loving memories from there… I was overwhelmed and nervous, but I took Khuda’s (God) name and I went on stage to receive it. I received a very prestigious award in India, in 2005, the Hafiz Ali Khan award. I told her I will come to see her again, but she said, “No, I will come to Lahore and meet you.” And she did! I just could not believe my eyes when she came home. Do you know how humble she is despite coming from such an affluent background? A few years ago, when I performed in Kolkata, I met her, and she was so loving and warm. Sharmila (Tagore) ji is a dear friend of mine. Bobby Shetty invited me to perform in Mumbai, and they had made such lovely arrangements for us. I have performed there several times, and the audiences there listen to me with a lot of love. I still remember how I used to play running and catching and hide-and-seek with my friends after music lessons. How could I ever forget India? I spent my childhood there. The government was giving artistes a lot of opportunities to grow, so we decided that I must stick to that path. How could I stop? I was not willing to let go of this gift that God had bestowed on me, and all the hard work that I had put in, so I told him that there was no question of stopping. After that, I started doing government shows, and my husband was very encouraging, but because of all my travel and busy schedule he felt I should stop. So my family got me married and then for two years my music came to a standstill. Was that because you could not find the time for them?Īmidst all this, when I turned 15, people started saying that I should get married, time was running out, and a girl should get married early. I still remember how I used to play running and catching and hide-and-seek with my friends after music lessons I performed a lot in Karachi, and they sent me to Russia, Kabul, Bangladesh, Canada and America. They sent me to several places in Pakistan as well as abroad to perform. After that, I started getting some requests from the Pakistan government, and I started performing shows for them. More than anything, they were curious to know who I was, and where I came from… I was a new voice for them. Slowly, people started listening to me, and they started liking my voice.
With the grace of God and because of my own practice, I was also able to sing those songs well. They used to compose tunes that were compatible with my voice. I must tell you that the composers at Radio Pakistan were very good. Bukhari sahab had great respect for my Guru, and when he heard I was his disciple, he thought he must give me an opportunity. The Director General at Radio Pakistan at that time was Zulfiqar Ali Bukhari. That door was completely closed for newcomers. After that the partition happened.Īt Lahore, the film industry was very big, but because of the situation, only popular actors and popular singers were given work because there was a great fear of films failing. When I grew a little older, and was seven, he started teaching me specific technicalities like the sur (tone), the notes, and to sing in a high pitch, and this continued for three years. He used to correct me with love, sometimes, and at times, he used to slap me, because that is the only way to train such a small child. Often, Ustad ji would be teaching me, and I would be more interested in playing with other children and not in what he was saying. My father used to take me for class every day, but how could such a small child understand the complexities and technicalities of classical music. I started learning classical music from Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan at the age of four. In that chaos and destruction, how did you sustain your practice?
After a while, we decided to go back to Lahore, as there was absolutely no scope for music in Rawalpindi. We had our relatives there, and we managed to get a house on rent and started living there. It was a one and a half hour journey it was very hot, and there was chaos everywhere.
After three months, we were asked to leave Murree, and we headed to Rawalpindi. We decided to move to Murree, a mountain place in Pakistan, hoping that this was a temporary situation, and we could somehow go back to Amritsar from there. We had nothing there, and we knew nobody there. After the partition, we were forced to move to Lahore. That was really our only connection with the city. Lahore was known for its shops and latest designs. We used to visit Lahore once in a while those days, for shopping. I was a child then, about ten years or so old, and we were based in Amritsar. What are the memories you have of that time? You survived the India-Pakistan partition. Farida Khanum singing Balle Balle in a live mehfil in the 1960s
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